A Circle K clerk accused of fatally shooting an off-duty Edgewater police officer last year in Ormond-by-the-Sea is set to enter a plea and be sentenced at a hearing starting at 1:30 p.m.
Eduardo Labrada Machado, 25, was working when Edgewater Police Officer David Jewell stopped by the store Sept. 15, 2025. Jewell was off-duty, out-of-uniform and unarmed when he walked into the convenience store, according to investigators.
The clerk went out to his car and got a Glock. He then entered the store and gunned down Jewell, repeatedly shooting him, even after Jewell had fallen to the floor, according to reports.
Labrada Machado would have faced the death penalty if convicted at trial.
The News-Journal is live at the sentencing.
Prosecutors originally sought death penalty against Labrada Machado
Prosecutors filed a notice of intent to seek the death penalty against Labrada Machado.
The notice of intent listed two aggravating factors that prosecutors intended to prove beyond a reasonable doubt: that Jewell’s murder was “especially heinous, atrocious or cruel;” and the murder was “committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner without any pretense of moral or legal justification,” according to the document
While the court record did not indicate the terms of the plea deal, it is unlikely that prosecutors would agree to anything but a life sentence for Labrada Machado in the case.
State Attorney R.J. Larizza’s office has previously agreed not to seek the death penalty in first-degree murder cases in exchange for a life sentence.
Family members, officers gather at Labrada Machado’s sentencing hearing
Members of the Edgewater Police Department are starting to arrive at the S. James Foxman Justice Center in Daytona Beach for Labrada Machado’s sentencing hearing. Labrada Machado’s family members are also in attendance.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: LIVE: Edgewater officers arrive for Labrada Machado’s sentencing
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
